The best picnic spots in the Yorkshire Dales
View up Wharfedale from Conistone Pie - a great Yorkshire Dales picnic spot!
With the summer weather looking to make a comeback next week (and still several weeks of the school holidays to fill!), it’s the perfect time to be try out some new picnic spots in the Yorkshire Dales.
We thought we’d share some of our favourites with you and have included a wide variety, from places you can just pull up in the car to ones that require a challenging hike to get to!
Let us know if you agree or have other favourites – we’re always looking for new ideas – and tag us on social media @muddybootswalkingholidays if you make it to any of our favourites!
Easy to access – River Wharfe, Langstrothdale
The River Wharfe forms at tiny Beckermonds in Langstrothdale where a couple of small becks come together. Its upper reaches are perfect for easy exploring, with the Dales Way footpath running along one side and a minor road linking Wharfedale to Wensleydale (via Fleet Moss, the highest road in Yorkshire) along the other.
When the water level is low, as it is for much of summer, the fascinating shapes of the limestone bedrock are clearly visible and make for great scrambling, paddling, fossil spotting and whatever the river version of ‘rock-pooling’ is!
Easy to get to picnic spot on the grassy banks of the infant River Wharfe in Langstrothdale
Between Yockenthwaite Farm and Deepdale Bridge the road is open on both sides with loads of easy parking spots to pull into, then you are only steps from a fantastic picnic spot by the river. Plenty of people come to enjoy this gorgeous area but it rarely feels crowded as there is plenty of space and people tend to spread out.
Another option? Jervaulx Abbey. The privately owned ruins of Jervaulx Abbey are just outside the National Park boundary, on the road between Masham and Leyburn. As they aren’t heavily managed, they retain a wild feel, with flowers growing through every crack in the ruins. A large car park is available over the road and it is a short, flat stroll to the ruins. The owners request a voluntary payment of £5 per adult towards the upkeep, which can be paid in cash or online (note the nextdoor tea rooms are closed for the whole of 2021).
Vast Views – the summit of Wild Boar Fell
We seem to manage to squeeze Wild Boar Fell into all of our ‘favourite places’ lists, but for good reason! A wonderful mountain to climb, with a variety of interesting routes to choose from to gain the summit, it stands alone in the Mallerstang valley and its remote location means to is surprisingly unfrequented, despite having views over the western Dales, the Howgills and the Lake District.
The huge summit plateau offers several great picnic spots, particularly at ‘the Nab’ or along the ridge at the row of cairns, both of which have stunning views up and down the Mallerstang Valley and further afield. If the weather doesn’t work out for you, you can always tuck yourself away for your picnic in the sturdy summit shelter!
The cairns on the summit plateau of Wild Boar Fell - a great place for a picnic with stunning 360 degree views
Another option? Conistone Pie. For something a little easier to get to, the unusual limestone outcrop of ‘Conistone Pie’ gives stunning views up and down upper Wharfedale and over to Kilnsey Crag. Sitting on the ridge just above the small village of Conistone, you can reach the Pie via the fantastic walk through Conistone Dib, a dry limestone valley with short scrambles at the beginning and end, or the more straightforward bridleway just to the north. You can sit up on top of the Pie itself – a perfect picnic spot.
Have a dip – Wainwath Force
Past Keld, deep in upper Swaledale, this used to be a quiet spot that you would share with only a few others even on a hot today. The last year or so has changed that and it can now get crowded and parking difficult, but it is still a fantastic spot and well worth visiting, especially if you avoid the weekends or go early or late.
When the river levels are low, the waterfall is split into several different cascades and has a large pool below, perfect for a swim. The area surrounding and down river of the waterfall is ideal for picnicking with lots of flat, grassy spots and handy rocks to perch on! There are many other waterfalls around Keld to hunt out while you are there!
Another option? The River Wharfe near Burnsall. The closest you’ll get in the Dales to feeling like you’ve gone to the beach is in the large field on the bend of the River Wharfe in Burnsall. The field is effectively a large car park and many people park on the riverside and set up for the day with picnics, BBQs, inflatables etc. It can be a lot of fun but certainly not somewhere for peace and quiet. To get away from the crowds, head east, down river, past Appletreewick (where riverside spots also tend to be busy) and as you head further along, people thin out and there are some wonderful picnic spots in the meadows right on the side of the river where there are some great places for a dip.
It goes without saying that you should take all the sensible precautions when swimming outdoors in cold water and you swim at your own risk.
Peaceful Potts Valley, where you can enjoy a picnic on the banks of pretty Potts Beck with no-one else in sight!
The middle of nowhere – Potts Valley
While it is fair to say that the Dales is going to be busy this summer, it is still fairly easy to find peace and quiet and wide open spaces if you steer clear of the well-known hot-spots.
But where do you do for real solitude? The fringes of the Park tend to be best for this and nowhere more so than the large area that technically falls within the county of Cumbria. A favourite walk since childhood has been from the hamlet of Little Asby, down into tiny Potts Valley where there are many spots by Potts Beck to enjoy a picnic in perfect peace and quiet.
The path emerges on a road, which you follow back round to Little Asby, but this is an open strip of tarmac through stunning, open limestone scenery where you’re not very likely to see a car let alone other walkers!
Another option? The Walden Valley. Accessed by a dead-end road out of the village of West Burton, the Walden Valley is habited only by a few farms and a small collection of houses in the tiny hamlet of Walden Head, right at the end of the 5-mile dead-end route. All of the paths through the valley are quiet and you are likely to get them almost entirely to yourself, but for real solitude head past Walden Head following Deepdale Gill onto Walden Moor. There are some lovely spots for a picnic along the gill or continue along the bridleway, which ultimately brings you out close to the summit of Buckden Pike (but is hugely less trafficked than the more popular routes out of Buckden) to settle in any number of peaceful spots offering fantastic views back down to Walden Valley to Wensleydale.
The view over the River Eden to Wild Boar Fell from the ruins of Pendragon Castle - another perfect Yorkshire Dales picnic spot!
A taste of history - Pendragon Castle
Another spot tucked away in the Mallerstang Valley, the ruins of Pendragon Castle are one of our ultimate picnic spots. Park right by the gate up to the ruins and in two minutes you’re climbing into the tumble down ruins, picture perfect with their flower covered walls, and setting up your picnic rug on the mound beneath the shade of an ancient tree.
For almost no effort, you get views along the valley, with the river babbling away just below you and the brooding shape of Wild Boar Fell tempting you to be more energetic up ahead.
Another option? The mining remains dotted around the northern Dales are a fascinating reminder that the area hasn’t always been as peaceful and beautiful as it is today. One of our favourite ways to explore them is to head up Gunnerside Gill (from the small village of Gunnerside), where there are several sets of remains and an idyllic picnic spot on the beck, where you can take in the remains of Blackethwaite Smelt Mill and the surrounding buildings while enjoying your lunch with your feet cooling off in the flowing water. This is the spot we have our picnic at on our ‘Reconnecting with Nature’ guided walk!
Many of these and lots of other fantastic picnic spots can be visited on all of our self-guided walking holidays and our guided Discovery Walks. Have a look through the website for more information or get in touch with any questions.